King City officials get an earful over towing scandal

King City's City Council on Tuesday directed its police department to hold off on most automobile impounds until it can fine-tune a new police towing policy.

The instruction came after council members heard complaints and the occasional compliment from dozens of residents speaking up in the wake of the arrests of a third of the city's police force last month.

A number of residents held signs calling for the firing of City Manager Michael Powers, saying he should have investigated police because residents have been accusing them of abuses for years.

"If we don't have a police department we can have faith in, where do we go?" said Minnie Sanchez before the meeting.

A lifelong resident of the city, Sanchez said her grandfather was a farm worker who came to work around King City under the Bracero guest worker program.

"I want to have faith in my city council," she said.

Sanchez helped organize a signature petition, turned in to officials at Tuesday's council meeting, calling for Powers to step down.

"It's about justice for all," she said.

The city is still seething with grief and anger after six current King City officers, including the department's former and acting chiefs, were arrested on a variety of charges.

The allegation that has most upset residents involves an alleged towing-for-profit scam that prosecutors say targeted low-income residents. A number of residents say they've been complaining about police towing abuses for years but their complaints went unheeded.

There was standing room only and moments of chaos as around 80 people packed into the council chambers, while volunteer interpreter Carlos Tripodi translated speakers' words into Spanish or English.

Rufina Resendez, who lost one car to a police impound and had to pay hundreds of dollars to retrieve another, criticized the council after some members said they had never heard complaints about towing abuses.

"We all know what's going on in King City, but you don't," she said.

Though it took no official action, the council was unanimous in its agreement that a more lenient towing policy should be enacted, one in which police could not tow a car for a minor offense. But the details, particularly regarding officer discretion, have yet to be ironed out.

Councilman Carlos Victoria said he wants any "discretion" language in the final policy clarified.

For now, acting Chief Dennis Hegwood said he has created a rough draft of a policy based on the Los Angeles Police Department's new, more lenient policy toward undocumented immigrants, which King City's City Attorney Roy Hanley said recently won an appeals court challenge.

Hanley said he will investigate state laws concerning fees and 30-day impound policies before the next council meeting on March 25.

Assemblyman Luis Alejo delivered a statement through an aide saying that allegations against police "should not be taken lightly." He said Watsonville has been able implement new tow policies that resulted in a 60-percent reduction in impounded cars. He also urged the city to adopt a conflict-of-interest policy for officers.

Mayor Robert Cullen spoke directly to residents after listening to nearly two hours of public comments, saying that change is coming, but it will take time.

"I hope as these weeks and months go by that our actions speak louder than words," he said. "And I hope from the bottom of my heart that it will not be business as usual in King City, that we come out of this as a better community."

King City Planning Commissioner Tom Montalvo spoke during public comments and suggested the council pass a city-wide conflict of interest policy to prohibit not only police but other city officials from purchasing towed cars.

Other cities have implemented similar policies. In Salinas, the police department now prohibits officers from buying from companies that contract with the department, said Chief Kelly McMillin.

Given the council's expressed interest, such a policy seems likely to surface at the next meeting as well.